December 2011

December 22, 2011

With a Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Language Film and a ban called by a Serbian leader, it is hard to tell which is better publicity for Angelina Jolie’s directorial debut, In the Land of Blood and Honey. Set in Sarajevo in the early ‘90’s, the drama illustrates neighbors murdering neighbors, barbaric behavior of all sorts, rape, and an official policy of ethnic cleansing. This bloodbath makes the Serbians look bad, the Muslims look like victims. The Croatians are mostly missing in the movie’s action. But last week, at the premiere and press conference, surrounded by regional actors on all sides of that conflict, Jolie made her equal-opportunity indictment clear: war damages the human psyche.

December 18, 2011

In the category of Best Animated Feature, the Foreign Press Association has just nominated both Rango and The Adventures of Tintin for Golden Globes. This awards nod comes as no surprise—expect Oscar nominations as well-- each is state of the animation art, but so different. In Rango, director Gore Verbinski used the quirky story telling techniques that made his Pirates of the Caribbean franchise so special—well, at least the first two. The plots are frankly forgettable, but the characters remain fresh, a product of brilliant casting. In Rango, Johnny Depp’s voice animates the central character, a chameleon, of all creatures, and it’s like he’s retained a residual high from his Rum Diary persona in this sheriff who must solve the mystery (a la Polanski’s Chinatown) of the disappearing water supply for the desert town of Dirt

December 15, 2011

Just as this year’s Nobel Peace Prize winners, three women President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee, and Tawakkol Karman, were announced, this film season features two films, The Iron Lady and The Lady. Both films focus on women rulers, one, Margaret Thatcher, a hawk, the other Aung San Suu Kyi, a dove who is in fact a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Both films reflect the steely nerve it takes to lead, revealing there is no one stereotype for women heads of state. In the parlance of the 1970’s wave of feminism, they may be called “lady,” but these ain’t no white glove and pearls sporting eye candy, even if they are wearing these accessories as Thatcher does.

December 07, 2011

Alan Rickman warned me about this: In his new play at the Golden Theater on Broadway, Seminar by Theresa Rebeck, directed by Sam Gold, Rickman plays a well-established teacher of a private writers’ workshop. He cajoles and humiliates his students, sleeps with them, getting his point across.

December 05, 2011

Last night at Avery Fisher Hall, introducing his latest masterfully shot and beautifully acted Rockwellesque epic movie, War Horse, director Steven Spielberg noted with pride that the play version was “on the boards” across the Lincoln Center complex. Then, he brought his performers to the stage one by one, with the exception of “Joey,” the film’s star. That’s because there are so many “Joeys,” he explained, seven would be jealous.

December 02, 2011

When Elaine Kaufman died last December 3, she left a city of broken hearts. For months, "Elaine’s" lingered on, a nostalgic haven for “regulars,” but many still had to admit, Elaine’s was simply not the same without Elaine. When the doors closed, finally, that simply left a stratum of the entertainment world, eh, homeless. That night, Showbiz411'sRoger Friedman filmed a final night with anecdotes galore about the legendary upper East Side joint, providing, along with archival interview footage of Elaine herself, enough material to keep a memorial for her, masterfully planned by Friedman and Fred Rappaport, lively for more than its 3 ½ hour extravaganza of clips and entertainment.